Kirk as a Red Shirt
by scifimimi
Summary: COMPLETE: Story is based on an away message. Will contain character deaths. Please read and review.


I apologize for taking so long to update this story. Thank you to all who reviewed. Feedback is very welcome.

An ensign was in the Recreation room reading a message from his parents and brother when another ensign a few years younger than his 27 years walked in. It was the Russian ensign Pavel Chekov, who was obsessed with Earth History and was convinced everything of importance was invented in Russia. Chekov admired the other ensign, Jim Kirk, and was convinced that Kirk had Russian in his heritage, which in fact could have been true. A few minutes later, Chekov's best friend, Hikuru Sulu walked in. The two then set up a chessboard and started playing. Kirk put down his message and watched them play and talk. He laughed to himself when Chekov beat Sulu and started his rant on how chess was invented in Russia. After Chekov ran out of steam from his rant, they started another round of chess. While the two of them played, Kirk's best friend and fellow ensign Gary Mitchell walked in, carrying a deck of cards.

He sat down opposite Kirk and the two started a game of poker. Kirk and Mitchell had been friends since their first day at Starfleet Academy. They were roommates, and soon became best friends. (Much like Sulu and Chekov) Mitchell talked to Kirk about his new crush, the communications officer, Uhura. Then they started to gossip about the crew in general, and how boring Spock was. Kirk's communicator chimed, and Dr. McCoy's voice came out chiding Kirk for trying to miss his physical that was supposed to be in five minutes. Kirk left, promising to tell Mitchell about his new fling.

Kirk walked the corridors of the Enterprise to sickbay to get his much- dreaded physical from the almost as feared Dr. McCoy. However, Kirk did not fear McCoy; rather his feeling towards McCoy ranged towards admiration and respect and viewed physicals as an annoyance. On the way he met up with Uhura who was on her way to the bridge to start her shift. After his physical he would go on duty on the bridge with Chekov and Sulu.  
He walked into sickbay, and sat down on one of the tables. Dr. McCoy performed the physical, grumbling the entire time about something that had something to do with Spock being a logical Vulcan. After it was done Kirk went down to the bridge for his usual duties. After he finished his shift, during which nothing of consequence occurred, he went to his quarters. He slept for a bit, woke up went to the rec room, did his usual workout, showered, and thought about his future in Starfleet. Kirk was unsure of where his Starfleet career would take him, hoping and praying he would reach the top. After this, he went back to his usual humdrum duties as an ensign of the Starship Enterprise under Captain April, and went to bed.

One morning a week later, Kirk was sitting with Mitchell, Sulu and Chekov at breakfast, when he realized how he wanted to be a captain. He had a sudden flashback to his youth in Iowa, looking at the stars and telling his father how he would travel the stars. He finished his breakfast, and headed to the bridge for his shift.

Meanwhile-on the bridge- Captain Robert April studied the planet that the Enterprise was orbiting.  
"What is your opinion, Spock?"

"A class M planet, that appears to be uninhabited."

"Spock, you and Dr. McCoy will accompany me along with Ensign Kirk to the surface."  
Kirk's communicator beeped while he was still in the hallway, telling him to meet an away team in transporter room 3. He excitedly hurried to the transporter room, beamed down with the away team and started to get readings from the newly discovered planet. James Kirk was excited to be on his first away mission on the Enterprise.

Jim, as his friends called him, was excited and hoped to make a good impression on the captain since he wanted command of his own ship. He wanted to travel the stars since he first looked at them during his youth in Iowa. He had graduated from the academy, first to beat Kobayashi Maru, and third in his class. He was eager to eventually be captain himself, hopefully of the Enterprise.  
Captain April's command "Energize" bought Kirk out of his reverie. They beamed down on the surface in a beautiful forest of giant bright blue and green trees that had long branches that seemed to reach for them.  
The away team split up, with Spock and Kirk taking readings and life signs on this beautiful, seemingly uninhabited planet.  
Captain April and Dr. McCoy went off to see what they could find. Kirk continued to wander around, tricorder in front. Spock explored for a bit to get readings on the plant life that dominated the planet's surface. Spock poked one of the plants, and sharp vines came out of it, wrapped themselves around him, and held him in place while a sharper vine was shoved down his throat. He merged with the plant's mind, becoming possessed. The plant did not want anyone on or near its planet, so the plant/Spock hybrid walked back to the group biding its time to kill the perceived threat.

A while later, Captain April had the away team bought back to the ship a few minutes later to analyze what was found. McCoy went back to sickbay to bother a few more crewmen for physicals, Captain April to the bridge with the plant hybrid/Spock and Kirk.

When Kirk's shift ended, he headed over to the lab to analyze the plant samples that they had found, and compare them to other plants from other worlds. He set up one of the plants, and decided to tie the plant samples to another plant. He reported what he was doing to the bridge, and asked for a wire to tie the plant with. April said he would send someone with the wire right away.  
McCoy was in his office working on something, when Chapel suggested they go eat. McCoy agreed and they headed towards the dining area. Kirk was still working on something else in the lab, analyzing samples of other recently discovered plants. Spock walked in, with the thin wire that Kirk had requested for the plant samples. Spock handed Kirk the wire, and Kirk thanked him and went back to his work, his back to Spock. Spock walked over to a digitalis plant, pulled off one of the leaves, and left quietly; with Kirk so absorbed in his work he didn't notice anything amiss. Spock hid the leaf in his pocket, and headed to his quarters where he shredded and ground the leaf into a powder he put into a vial. Spock hid the vial in his pocket, and left his quarters and headed towards the dining area.  
Chapel was eating with McCoy, when Chapel went up to get ketchup for her eggs. McCoy went over to bother a few ensigns to get their physicals. Spock discreetly put some of the powder into Chapel's coffee. He then went over and got some plomeek soup from the food synthesizer. Chapel sat back down, put the ketchup on her eggs, and drank some of her coffee. She ate her eggs and toast, and finished off her coffee. She got up to put her tray away, and collapsed, blood flowing from her nose. McCoy gasped, quickly went over to her motionless form, scanned her with a tricorder, and pronounced, "She's dead!" As McCoy fought to fight back tears kneeling on the floor, with others staring in shock, Spock calmly ate his soup. When he finished, he went to his quarters, took a book off his shelf, and then walked into the rec room.

During this time, Sulu and Chekov were on the bridge. When word reached them that Chapel was dead, they both were shocked and upset about the death of their friend.

When they finished their shift, they went to the rec room, to play chess and talk out their feelings. Spock was in the rec room, alone, reading quietly when they arrived. While they played their game, Spock walked up to them and quietly pulled out two knives from his pocket. They were so absorbed in their game and grief they didn't notice him walk up to them. He slit their throats at the same time, and walked out quickly with his book.

The next crewmen who walked in 15 minutes later were shocked to discover Sulu and Chekov lying in a pool of blood by a bloody chessboard. McCoy came in after the crewmen's frantic call, and grimly pronounced them both dead. He had them bought to sickbay, and went to the bridge to report this to the captain, as he felt the deaths of three crewmen was too important to be said over intercom, and felt the news had to be delivered personally.

This gave Spock time to poison McCoy's whiskey that was kept in sickbay. After this was done, Spock went to his quarters. Spock poured the rest of the digitalis into a glass, put water in the glass, and then he drank it. A few minutes later, blood poured out of his mouth, and he fell to the floor, dead.

Kirk was working in the lab, when out of one of the plants from the surface came a spider. Not the usual time little ones from a garden. It was a huge, hairy one the size of a human hand. It went up to Kirk silently, and bit him on the back of his leg. He screamed, dropped to floor in a fit of shaking, and then suddenly stopped moving. He got up off the floor a few minutes later, his eyes a dark crimson.

A security officer named Tim was the first one Kirk attacked. He fought Kirk off, and eventually Kirk found an easier target, after all Tim was 6'5 and 250 pounds. Kirk was a few inches shorter, and a walking flagpole. Tim called security, and the security guards captured and threw Kirk into the brig.

While this was happening, the ship was attacked by thirty tiny raider ships and somehow really badly damaged. The leader of the enemy vessels told Captain April to hand over the ship to be sold for parts, and the crew over as well to be used as slaves. April was also told to not expect any mercy. April then kept firing at the vessels best he could, until he realized that the raiders were starting to board his ship. He then paged engineering, and told the engineer to start the ship's self destruction sequence. The engineer, Scotty pushed the button…and the countdown to the end began. During that last minute, Tim and the rest of the crew fought off the invading raiders with much success as the minute ticked to the end like dynamite before destroying a bridge. The raiders were too busy to notice how little time they had left in this universe as the countdown droned on. On the bridge, Captain April said a silent prayer to himself for the crew as the countdown waned down to the finish. 3-2-1…0. With the subsequent explosion, the USS Enterprise went into oblivion, all hope lost for the future.

The end

Please review. Thanks for reading.


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